


such a fine and natural sight

by prancelance



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining, School Dances, Slow Dancing, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:20:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25254484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prancelance/pseuds/prancelance
Summary: Argo holds the invitation above his face as he lies on his back, squinting at the intricate calligraphy.The formality of it makes him feel a bit uneasy, like this small black envelope holds something much bigger than can be encapsulated in a sheet of paper. In a way it does. Without even opening it, he knows that this is an invitation to the annual gala.prompt: “Don’t say a word, just dance with me.”
Relationships: Argo Keene/Sir Fitzroy Maplecourt
Comments: 5
Kudos: 65





	such a fine and natural sight

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Acting4Hope](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Acting4Hope/gifts).



> lesbian--susie on tumblr said "maplekeene with 43 please god i need more dancing content w these two dipshits"
> 
> 43: “Don’t say a word, just dance with me.”
> 
> i also need my maplekeene dancing fix so you shall receive
> 
> title from dancing in the moonlight by king harvest

Argo holds the invitation above his face as he lies on his back, squinting at the intricate calligraphy. 

_Argonaut Keene_

_The Thundermen_

_Room 238_

The formality of it makes him feel a bit uneasy, like this small black envelope holds something much bigger than can be encapsulated in a sheet of paper. In a way it does. Without even opening it, he knows that this is an invitation to the annual gala.

Every year, all of the students at Wiggenstaff’s School for Heroism and Villainy are invited to a gala in Last Hope as a thank you for all of the school’s contributions to the surrounding area. The halls of the school have buzzed for months, speculating when the invitations would be delivered, what the theme would be, who was going with whom. When he heard the buzzing crescendo about halfway through the school day, he knew that people must have started to receive their invitations. When he came back to the dorm for the first time after lunch, this was waiting for him expectantly on his bed.

He reads over the writing a few more times, noting the vibrant gold color of the smooth ink, a hue that’s probably very expensive. He flips it over, revealing the seal of Wiggenstaff’s, it’s grooves pressed into swirling black and gold wax. Sighing, he sits up, swinging his feet around so that they’re hanging off of the bed. In lieu of a letter opener, he takes out his dagger, slicing through the top of the envelope with ease. The paper inside is also black, one side etched with an elaborate, maze like gold pattern. The other side holds this message:

_Mr. Argonaut Keene,_

_As you may know, Hieronymous Wiggenstaff’s School for Heroism and Villainy holds an annual gala in celebration of you, the students. As a member of our esteemed Sidekick program, you are cordially invited to join us for this year’s gala._

_As always, this year’s gala will be held in the town of Hope, although at a rather unconventional address. There will be a shuttle service that arrives at the front gates at 8:00 PM, as well as every fifteen minutes thereafter._

_Keep in mind that if you will be bringing a date from outside of Wiggenstaff’s, you must pick up a form for your partner or partners so that they can be approved._

_The dress code is black tie optional. We encourage our students to dress according to the theme, but it is not a requirement for attendance. Any manner of interpretation of the theme will be accepted._

_The theme for this year will be:_

_Labyrinth_

The letter continues to go on about other various details of the gala, which Argo skims before setting back down on his pillow. He feels… nervous. Uncharacteristically nervous.

He’s been to dances before. On the lower decks of ships, hair flying as the music plays to the beat of the waves crashing on the hull. In dance halls when they would take to the port, everything so hot and crowded that he forgot his own name, all sound muffled after he left as his ears tried to recover from the volume. 

But he’s never been to one like this. One where the supplies for just one invitation probably cost more than his entire wardrobe, where the dress code was something called ‘black tie optional.’ One where there were actual _dates,_ like ones where you had to ask a month in advance and get _approved_ . Before coming here, we would never have even dreamed about trying to get into an event as fancy as this one, and now here he was, _cordially invited._

The envelope gleams at him from just outside his peripheral vision and he snatches it back up, stuffing it in a drawer. Out of sight, out of mind.

\---

That evening, Argo is sitting at dinner with Fitzroy, Rainer, and the Firbolg, pushing his food around his plate absently while his mind whirls. 

“Argo?” Rainer says, waving at him to get his attention. When his eyes regain focus, he sees that she’s concerned. “Are you okay? You seem to be somewhere else right now.”

It takes a second for him to process her words, but he replies “Yeah, I’m just… to be honest, I’m a bit nervous about this whole gala thing. I have no clue who I’d go with.” That is a lie. He knows who he _wants_ to go with, and it’s the boy sitting right next to him. But he would never say that; even though he’s felt this way about Fitzroy for quite some time, he would never act on it unless he knew it was reciprocated. Otherwise, he runs the risk of losing one of the only people he has now.

“Oh!” Fitzroy perks up. “We could all go as a group! The Thundermen and their esteemed friend, Rainer.”

Rainer looks a bit guilty. “About that… I’ve already asked the Firbolg to be my plus one.”

There’s a beat where Fitzroy and Argo process what she’s saying, but once it sinks in, both of their jaws drop in unison.

“It is… a great honor! To attend the ga-la with Rainer!” A large smile stretches across the Firbolg’s face, and Argo finds himself warmed at the sight. 

Fitzroy, however, is still extremely confused. “How the heck did that happen?”

“Well, you know, I had a lot of fun dancing with him at my birthday party, and I’ve been meaning to spend more time with him since we don’t get a lot of one-on-one. I thought it would be nice to spend the evening together, as friends. I’m sorry guys, I should’ve checked with you first to see if you wanted to do a group thing.” Rainer looks genuinely guilty, and Argo can’t help but regret bringing it up in the first place.

“It’s totally okay, Rainer. It’s not that big of a deal, I’m just a bit nervous is all. Nothing to be sorry for.”

“I mean… Well, Argo, we could always,” Fitzroy clears his throat, not meeting Argo’s gaze. “We could always go together.”

Argo’s heart soars into his throat, smothering any nervousness he had. He’s about to give an enthusiastic yes when Fitzroy finally makes eye contact. His face flushes and his eyes widen before he looks away again. “You know, as friends?”

_Oh._ And his heart plummets down to the base of his stomach like a dead bird. He wants to crawl under the table and hide from everyone until he recovers, wants to say no to Fitzroy because he knows that going together as just buds being pals would tear his heart up more than ever. But Fitzroy looks so hopeful, and what other reason would there be to turn him down?

“Sure, Fitzroy.”

His face lights up in a smile, and Argo wants to kick himself. This is going to be torture.

\---

Argo knows how cliche this is, but he is truly breathless when he sees Fitzroy.

He has spent the last few hours standing in front of all his nicest clothes, trying to find something that’s appropriate for the event. Should he have probably tried to find something beforehand? Most definitely. But every time he tried, he was overwhelmed with nerves and chickened out. He finally decided that he would wear his nice black pants with a blazer. He also pulled out the gold dress shirt that Fitzroy gave him as a present last month. 

“You need to have something in case there are any important meetings the Thundermen have to attend. As my CCO, I can’t have you coming into a potentially lucrative situation without looking professional.” He said, crossing his arms.

“Then why is it gold?” Argo held the shirt away from him at arm’s length, looking it over. “Isn’t that really flashy?”

Fitzroy smiled at that, taking the shirt from him and pressing it up against his chest to see how it suited him. Argo blushed under his gaze, uneasy being the center of his attention but drinking it in at the same time. “We might have to be professional, but we also have to be memorable.”

Argo hugged the shirt to his chest as he recalled the memory before putting it on. He hasn’t worn it since Fitzroy made him try it on and looking at it now, he actually thinks it looks… really good. It fits perfectly over his frame, which surprises him. Once he’s finished getting dressed and has put on some eyeliner, he actually thinks he looks nice.

And then he sees Fitzroy.

Fitzroy is wearing a jet black suit, his hair in perfect curls and his makeup flawless. The cut of the suit showcases his newfound height as much as possible, but the truly marvelous thing about it is the embroidery on the jacket. At first glance, the intricate gold pattern that covers the entire piece is already impressive, but when one looks, the pattern is actually hundreds of swirling, interconnected mazes, much like the design on the invitation. 

“Wow,” Argo says before he can stop himself, feeling his face flush. “Fitzroy, that jacket is a-mazing! Whoops, pardon the pun. Where did you get it?”

Fitzroy looks a perfect mix between proud and bashful. “Well, I designed it. But Rainer helped a lot with the embroidery. Who knew that skeletal rodents could sew?”

“Wait, you designed this yourself? Fitzroy, that’s fantastic. You really have an eye for this kind of stuff.” Argo finds himself gushing over the jacket, Fitzroy’s face growing increasingly red before he interrupts.

“I actually have something for you. You don’t have to wear it if you don’t want to, but I thought, you know. It would be nice to match?” Before Argo can respond, he holds out a piece of black fabric with the same design, and as he takes it, he realizes it’s a tie.

“This is… really sweet of you, Fitz. Really. But, um… I don’t know how to tie a tie.”

“Oh, I can help you then.” Before he knows it, Fitzroy’s hands are moving the fabric around his neck, quickly knotting it before moving to adjust it. “You look stunning, by the way, Argo. Truly.” When he’s done, Fitzroy lays his hands on Argo’s chest, the look in his eyes far away, before he realizes what he’s doing and turns away. 

Argo thinks he’s never been this hot.

\---

The invitation wasn’t kidding when it said that the location this year was unconventional. The shuttle dropped them off right in front of a large field, one they'd ridden past many times before on their way to missions. Usually, it was vast expanse of empty space, but now it was filled with a gigantic hedge maze. It’s a thick, luscious green, and it looms over them, probably ten feet tall. Various students mill around, a steady stream going in through the entrance, a cobblestone path lining the way.

“This is impressive,” Fitzroy reaches out to touch the hedge, picking a leaf off. Immediately, another one grows in its place. “None of this was here a month ago. They must’ve had a whole team of magic users and botanists. Not to mention paving the whole thing.” 

Argo peers ahead as they walk into the labyrinth and confirms that the interior is completely paved in cobblestone. Tiny lights blink occasionally as they drift through the air, swirling and changing hue. It looks like most of the other students are following the path that leads to the right, while some opt to go left. Argo notes that the students that are approaching _from_ the path on the left are holding plates of varying sizes, all piled high with food. 

“It looks like they have places to get food on the left,” he nudges Fitzroy, who looks unusually tense. “Hey, are you alright? You look a little off.”

Fitzroy rolls his shoulders and gives Argo a smile that doesn’t quite meet his eyes. “I’m perfectly fine. Let’s go find some food.”

They make their way around the entire food area of the labyrinth, taking in all the smells as they look at the different stalls set up in every dead-end. They have varying cuisines from all over Nua, many of which Argo recognizes from his travels on the Mariah, and all of them look tempting. Any time he wants to stop, however, Fitzroy says that they have to get a good look at everything before they make their decision. Argo doesn’t mind, though. It’s nice to be here, walking around with him, even if it hurts a bit that he can’t take his hand. 

However, they’ve turned a few corners now where there weren’t any food stalls on the path. There aren’t any students in this area either. Argo stops in his tracks“Um, Fitzroy?” He grabs his arm to stop him. “I think we’ve gone a bit too far.”

Fitzroy looks around, scanning the area with his eyes. “You’re right. Let’s turn around.”

Except they make a few wrong turns. Actually, a _lot_ of wrong turns. 

“We’ve been at this for at least half an hour now, Fitz.” Argo says as they enter a clearing that has a completely unfamiliar fountain in the center. He turns his head to the sky to see if he can find any indication of direction from the stars, but the lights from the gala are too bright, making too much light pollution for the stars to be visible. “Is there anyone you can contact? Like Rainer?”

Fitzroy looks very tense, like he might go into a rage at any moment, and honestly, Argo doesn’t blame him. This whole endeavor has been extremely frustrating. “I suppose. I don’t know if she’ll have hers on her though.” He pulls out a pocket-sized notebook of far-speech, scribbling on the back page. “‘Argo and I are lost in the maze. Please come help. Much love, Fitzroy’ That should do it, hopefully.”

Argo sits down on the edge of the fountain and they’re both silent. They can hear the music playing from the dance floor. “Well, that’s frustrating. That we’re technically even closer now to the dance floor than before but still so damn far.” 

Fitzroy sits down next to him, putting his head in his hands and letting out a melodramatic sigh. “Unbelievably frustrating.”

They fall back into silence again, Argo not wanting to push Fitzroy any further if he was this upset already. They would just wait it out until Rainer showed up, no biggie. Honestly, he’s a little grateful that they got stuck here. Otherwise, he would be on the edge of the dance floor, perpetually wishing that he was dancing with Fitzroy but never actually acting on it. And anyway, the music is pleasant enough from out here. The song that was playing before fades out and a new one starts to play, a slow song that he’s actually very fond of. 

Fitzroy’s back shoots straight as he hears the first few notes, and as he realizes what’s playing, he leaps to his feet. “No! No, no, no, not now!”

His yelling startles Argo so much that he has to catch himself from falling backward into the fountain. Fitzroy runs over to the wall of the maze that’s closest to where the sound is coming from, kicking the hedge. A branch breaks from the force of it but repairs itself in seconds. 

“Jesus, Fitz! What are you so worked up about?”

His hands fly to his hair, and he groans as his face scrunches up in exasperation. “All of this is ruined! I had a whole plan and now it’s absolutely ruined!”

“What the heck do you mean? What’s been ruined? Fitz, I don’t understa-”

He whips around, arms straight down by his sides, his hands balled into fists like he’s forcing himself to say this. “I requested the song.” Argo looks at him, confused, before he sighs and sags his shoulders, looking at the ground. “I requested this song because I knew you liked it. And I was going to ask you to dance. It was going to be a whole thing and..” He trails off, still looking down.

Argo looks at him, taking a second before he’s fully processed what he’s trying to say. “Wait, Fitzroy, do you... do you like me?” 

He chuckles, looking back at him for a second, and Argo can see that he’s been crying. “I thought that was fairly obvious. I asked you to the gala, I made the special tie so we would match, I’ve been tense _all evening._ ”

“But you asked me to the gala as a _friend_ , Fitz.”

“Only after I saw how surprised you were! I thought for sure you were repulsed or something.” He carefully wipes under his eye as to not smudge his eye makeup. 

None of this feels real to Argo. Especially not when he holds out his hand to Fitzroy automatically, like his body is moving on its own. 

“Wha-”

**“Don’t say a word, just dance with me.”**

Fitzroy just stares at him, beyond surprised, but then he beams, his smile taking up his whole face, and Argo erupts into butterflies. He takes his hand, putting his other on Argo’s back. 

Neither of them are very skilled slow dancers, so for the most part they just sway to the beat of the music, turning in place at the center of the clearing. The tiny lights hang around them in the air as the moon sits above them; everything is illuminated, so Argo can see every last detail on Fitzroy’s face as he gazes at him. The bridge of his nose. A few freckles on his neck. How soft his lips look. How soft his eyes are. He wants to memorize it all. He wants to get so close to him, as close to him as possible, so he puts his head on his shoulder. He breathes in deeply, like he could breathe in every last drop of Fitzroy. _Fitzroy, Fitzroy, Fitzroy._

When the song ends, they keep standing like that, clinging to each other like they might fall away if they let go. They finally lean away, and Fitzroy takes Argo’s face in his hands. He sighs, leaning into his touch. When Fitzroy kisses him, softly and sweetly, he thinks that this is everything he ever could have wanted and more. So, so much more. 

Fitzroy pulls away, gasping for breath, his smile infinitely wide. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that.

Argo laughs, throwing his head back, not seeing how soft Fitzroy’s eyes are. “I think I do. I guarantee it’s been longer for me.” 

He’s about to go in for another kiss when he hears a voice behind them say, “Oh, _there_ you guys are!”

They whip around, and Rainer is there with the Firbolg. She’s wearing a shimmering emerald green gown with golden embroidery winding up from the hem, the same pattern that Fitzroy designed. The Firbolg is wearing a green tunic that Argo helped him make, white flowers speckling his hair.

“I got your message, Fitzroy! Sorry it took us so long.” Then she notices how close they’re standing, their swollen lips, their tousled hair. A shit-eating grin spreads across her face. “Although, I see you two found a way to pass the time.”

The Firbolg looks between the two of them as well before he lets out a hearty laugh. “I told you that they would do this before the night was up! This means I win the bet, yes?”

Argo and Fitzroy glare at the two of them, but Rainer just laughs as well, handing the Firbolg a bag of berries (she tried to get him to bet coins, but he insisted that these held more value to him). “Honestly, I can’t even be mad that you won. This is a prize enough for me. Now come on, you guys. We’ll show you the way back.”

As they walk back through the winding maze, Argo and Fitzroy hang back a few feet behind their friends, hand in hand, soaking up the fact that this is real. That they’re actually here, right now, together.

The rest of the night, they don’t leave the dance floor once.

**Author's Note:**

> episode 18: war is coming
> 
> me: fancy galas and dancing :)
> 
> michelle, i know it took me a fucking long time to actually write this but i hope you enjoyed it nonetheless <3


End file.
